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The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) has selected five short-line infrastructure improvement projects to receive about $2.2 million in federal stimulus funding.

The state received $348 million for highway and bridge projects through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and devoted about $3 million for short line and port authority infrastructure projects.

KDOT received 16 requests for short-line and port authority grants totaling about $19 million. Staff from KDOT’s Bureau of Transportation Planning and a freight and rail unit evaluated and selected the projects — which involve three short lines — according to certain criteria, such as job creation, and whether the project was in an economically distressed area and could be completed within three years.

The five selected projects and grant amounts are:
• Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad’s plan to add a siding to handle 110-car grain trains ($967,820);
• Nebraska Kansas Colorado Railroad’s request for partial funding to rehabilitate a bridge ($476,826);
• Kyle Railroad Co.’s plan to construct a 2,000-foot siding and switch at Nesika Energy ($371,000);
• Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad’s plan to extend siding capacity at the Farmers Coop ($195,278); and
• Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad’s plan to expand a siding at Mid-States Farmers Coop ($158,470).